Nest
Woodsmoke

Often, when listening to an album, we take a moment to reflect on what factors might have influenced and/or inspired the composition of particular melodies, the search for specific sounds, the use of a certain type of instrumentation, and, much to our chagrin, we often find valuable help in reading the lyrics to try to reach the soul of the music that reaches our ears. But... have you ever tried to think about the importance of the environment surrounding the artist during composition? How many songs in the history of music have been dedicated to the poetry of the rain or snow? And how many of these have a melancholic mood or, in any case, very calm and atmospheric? Environment-Music, what a fascinating combination! Perhaps it is a bold hypothesis, but I think there is a close correlation between what is conceived by a musician and the environmental/climatic context in which the composition is carried out. Why not? There is much talk about meteorosensitivity, but anyone who has a passion for this kind of music or knows it even marginally will know that it is certainly not lightheartedness that pervades its atmospheres... yes, Nordic folk is meteorosensitive!

A rightful introduction to approach the sounds proposed by Nest, a band from the chill of Finland, a healthy and honest bearer of emotions. It is from the first notes of the opening track "The Silvershade Lynx" that one begins to feel almost in symbiosis with delicate, soft, and subtly mysterious harmonies; it is from the first icy notes of the Kantele, recorded on a very dark and evocative background, that one begins to feel captured. Every arpeggio is a gust of wind that chills, with clear, crystalline, and sharp sounds that characterize this singular pseudo-zither, a traditional Finnish instrument, the true undisputed protagonist, and trademark of Nest's sound. And, as one continues listening to this "Woodsmoke," one can hear the pleasant accompaniment of Lappish drums and, gradually, a touch that brings it to the present: heavy bass notes and evocative synth sounds introducing very subtle vocal lines, nothing more than whispers. The comparison between sounds that journey from the past and typical instruments of modern music is magnificent.

This, in my opinion, is the true meaning of ambient music, and what should be the real purpose of a genre too often pretentious and not at all sincere. The soothing combination of folk and ambient music from this duo (A. Tolonen and T. Saxell for the record) comes to compose the shards of a mirror that wishes to reflect the Scandinavian natural environment, the keeper of their thoughts, their lives.

Let yourself be imprisoned by the elusive melodies of "Woodsmoke," let yourself be enveloped by the wood smoke and try to imagine cold and snowy landscapes, even if outside your house the sun is high and it's 30 degrees. Otherwise, you can always wait for the next winter...